Attorfi



Jan. 15, 1963 D. TORRES Re. 25,

VENDIN ACHINE FOR NDRIC OBJECTS r f '1 I 52 "Win r MW i M H h I FIE-5'111 Unite States He. 25,321 Reissued Jan. 15, 1963 25,321 VENDINGMACHINE FGR CYLINDRICAL OB- JECTS HAVING JAM PREVENTING MEANS DavidTorres, Sunnyvale, Calif., by the Vendo Company,

Kansas City, Mo., a corporation of Missouri, assignee Original No.3,026,002, dated Mar. 20, 1962, Ser. No.

759,570, Sept. 8, 1958. Application for reissue July 6,

1962, Ser. No. 209,275

Claims. (Cl. 221-67) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets I: appears in theoriginal patent but forms no part of this reissue specification; matterprinted in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

This invention relates to vending machines and particularly coinmerchandisers of the type having spaced guiding partitions for receivingtwo vertical columns of articles thcrebetween in staggered relationshipand selectively controllable mechanism underlying the stack and havingswingable gate means engaging the lowermost article to thereby causearticles to be successively released from article columns as said gatemeans is swung and upon insertion of proper coins.

Although staggered stack vending machines of the type referred to hereinhave been employed for a considerable period of time, problems havearisen relative to jamming of articles to be vended and particularlycylindrical objects such as soft drink bottles. Cylindrical articles ofthis character have tended to wedge between the sides of the bottlepartitions, particularly when such bottles are rough and worn wherebythe outer surfaces of the same have greater coefiicience of frictionwhen in interengagernent than is present with new bottles.

It has been determined that the weight of the bottles in each columnforming a part of the staggered stack and pressing on the two lowermostbottles, causes the latter to move outwardly relative to each otherthereby flexing the partitions in opposite directions and wedging thebottles against the side of the partitions, particularly the bottle nextabove the next to be vended bottle resting on the swingable gate controlmechanism beneath the stack.

Bottles have also jammed between the vending machine partitions byvirtue of the bottles icing up and thereby sticking together wherebynormal vending is interrupted and furthermore, vending of bottles neckfirst has in some instances cause the butt of the bottle next above thevended bottle to hang at the next operational cycle.

It is, therefore, the most important object of the present invention toprovide novel structure adapted to be mounted on the spaced guidepartitions receiving the two vertical columns of articles in staggeredrelationship and which structure includes spaced means disposed toengage certain of the cylindrical articles at the lower end of the stackfor preventing jamming of the bottles between the partitions duringrelease of the bottles successively from alternate vertical columns ofbottles.

Another important object of the invention is to provide structureadapted for preventing jamming of bottles in staggered stack vendingmachines wherein the novel structure includes a pair of opposed,substantially vertieal spacer plates adapted for mounting on the guidepartitions and disposed a suflicient distance apart to cause thecylindrical article next above the lowermost bottle engaging the gate,out of engagement with the cylindrical article directly above thelowermost bottle and in the same vertical column therewith wherebyjamming of the articles during vending is prevented by virtue of theweight of the stack being removed from the article next above thelowermost bottle and which would otherwise tend to wedge the two lowerbottles between the partition walls.

Also an important object of the invention is to provide spacer plates asreferred to above having upper opposed sections in closer spacedrelationship and lower opposed areas whereby not only the articledirectly above the lowermost article but also the cylindrical articlenext above the bottle referred to, are both maintained out of engagementwith the bottle next above the lowermost article to thereby assure thatno weight whatsoever of the stack is carried by the bottle in a positionnext above the lowermost article.

Other important objects of the invention relate to the provision ofspacer plates as described wherein the offset surfaces of each plate areinterconnected by intermediate angularzones causing the articles toslidesmoothly over the spacer plates; to the provision or" an arcuate marginon the uppermost edge of each plate to prevent the bottles hanging up on.such margin; to outwardly extending integral tab means on each plateserving to mount the same on the partitions of the vending machine in animproved manner; to a spacer plate which may be readily constructed witha conventional stamping machine thereby lowering the cost of the unitand without materially increasing the over-all price of the machine; toa spacer plate wherein a wear-resistant material may be placed on theouter surfaces of the plate to increase the longevity of the same; andto other important objects and details of construction which will becomeobvious or be explained more fully as the following specificationprogresses.

in the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a portion of avending machine and illustrating the present spacer plates mounted inoperable positions on the guide partitions and with cylindrical articlesto be vended illustrated in dotted lines;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of one of the spacerplates showing the .same mounted in operable position;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views taken on lines 3-3 and 4-4respectively of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one of the spacer plates carried by apartition of the vending machine.

Machine 10 is preferably of conventional construction for receiving aplurality of articles to be vended and includes an outer casing (notshown) suitably insulated and having mechanism incorporated therein forcooling the interior of the casing and coin controlled structure forelfecting rotation of gate means in the nature of an arm 12, about theaxis of shaft 14 each time coins of proper value are placed in themachine.

It is to be understood that gate arm 12 secured to shaft 14 for rotationtherewith mounts a bail 16 normally positioned horizontally and adaptedto engage the lowermost cylindrical article 18 of a vertical stackbroadly numerated 20 with gate arm 12 being swingable to anotherposition whereby bail 16 engages the lower cylindrical article 22 ofanother stack 24 with article 18 being vended to the customer. As shownin FIG. 1, cylindrical article 26 is located in staggered relationshipto cylindrical article 22 while article 27 of column 24 is likewiseoffset with respect to cylindrical article 26. In this manner, there ispresented a pair of vertical columns or stacks with the bottles or othercylindrical articles thereof located in staggered relationship.

Structure forming a part of machine 10 for supporting and guiding thecylindrical articles in stacks 20 and 24, comprise a pair of upright,parallel partitions 28 and 30 interconnected along rear uprightlongitudinal extremities thereof by a panel 32 which may form a part ofthe casing if desired. Relatively narrow strips 34 integral with theupright longitudinal margins of partitions 28 and 30 and remote frompanel 32 extend laterally from corresponding partitions 28 and 30 inopposite directions and toward each other as shown in FIG. 1. Partitions28 and 30 are spaced apart a sufficient distance to permit a maximumnumber of cylindrical articles to be placed therebetween in staggeredrelationship.

The construction of gate arm 12 as well as the mechanism for actuatingthe same to successively release cylindrical articles from stacks 20 and22 between partitions 28 and 30, forms no part of the present inventionand will not be described in detail.

For a better understanding of mechanism of this type, reference isherein made to US. Patent No. 2,762,524, US. Patent 2,585,017 and U8.Patent 2,369,882. Also, it is contemplated that a plurality of spacedpartitions 28 and 30 be provided for permitting vending of cylindricalarticles from a number of difierent stacks and with the mechanism withinthe machine selectively controlling operation of individual swingablegates disposed beneath respective staggered stacks of articles.

The present invention comprises structure in the form of substantiallyidentical spacer plates generally designated 36 and mounted on theinnermost opposed faces of each of the partitions 28 and 3t) in a mannerto be more specifically defined hereinafter. Each of the spacer plates36 has a lower substantially rectangular area 38 extending the fullwidth of the plate as well as an upper rectangular section 40 coincidentin length with area As best shown in FIG. 4, upper section 4t isdisposed in offset relationship to area 38 and is integral with the samethrough an intermediate angularly disposed zone 42 merging relativelysmoothly with area 38 and section 40 respectively.

It is contemplated that spacer plates 36 be formed of a single sheet ofmetal suitably stamped to desired configuration and in this respect, itis to be noted that laterally extending upper fiange 44 integral withsection 40- and lower flange 46 forming a part of area 38, as well asside flanges 48 integral with both of the areas 38 and 40, serve tomaintain section 40 and area 38 in proper spaced relationship to theproximal face of a cor-responding partition 28 and 30 when spacer plates36 are mounted on the same. Flange 44 merges smoothly with section 40throughout a margin 50 extending substantially the entire width of arespective spacer plate 36 and substantially arcuate in transversecross-section to present an outer convex surface.

A pair of oppositely extending integral tabs and 52 lying substantiallyin the plane of a respective section 40', facilitate mounting of spacerplate 36 on partitions 28 and 30.

Each of the partitions 28 and 30 is provided with an inwardly struck,integral bracket 54 disposed to receive tab 50 of a corresponding spacerplate 36, while strip 34 connected to each partition 28 and 30 has aslot 56 therein adapted for receiving a respective tab 52-. In thismanner, spacer plates 36 are removably mounted on correspondingpartitions 28 and 30 with no securing means whatsoever being necessaryand with flanges 44, 46 and 48 engaging the proximal innerface ofpartitions 28 and 3d to maintain areas 38 and sections 40 of opposedspacer plates 36 in correct spacial disposition.

The distance between areas 38 of opposed spacer plates 36 is correlatedwith the space between opposed sections 40 to thereby cause lowermostcylindrical article 22 of column 24 to be located in spaced relationshipto cylindrical article 26 as well as article 23 when lowermostcylindrical article 18 of stack is carried by bail 16 of gate arm 12.Since cylindrical article 26 rests directly on article 18 and article 27engages article 26 with both of the articles 26 and 27 clearing article22, it can be recognized that the weight of the staggered stack iscompletely removed from article 22 and thus jamming of articles 18 and22 between partitions 28 and is precluded. Furthermore, icing up andsticking together of the bottles is obviated and there is no tendencyfor one of the bottles to vend neck first thereby causing the nextbottle such as article 22 to hang up, especially by the butt thereof.

The provision of angular intermediate zone 42 as well as arcuate margin50 is of importance because such surfaces prevent hanging up of thecylindrical article during descent of the same as the lowermost articleis vended and there is absolutely no possibility of the bottles becomingjammed during the vending cycle.

If desired, the outermost surfaces of areas 38 and sec tions 40 as wellas Zones 42 of corresponding spacer plates- 36 may be plated orotherwise coated with a relatively wear-resistant material to increasethe longevity of spacer plates 36 and preclude necessity of replacingthe same at more frequent intervals.

Inasmuch as spacer plates 35 may be constructed by conventional stampingoperations, it can be recognized that the units may be fabricated at aminimum cost with out materially increasing the price of the completevending unit.

Another feature of the invention is the fact that all of the weight ofthe stack of articles is placed on bail 16 of gate arm 12 thus forcinglowermost article 18 to vend on swinging of gate arm 12 and thereby bail16 to the opposite end of its path of travel, even though there might bea tendency for articles 18 and 22 to jam between partitions 28 and 30.It can be recognized that the gap between articles 22, 26 and 27 shouldbe sufficient to prevent jamming of articles 18 and 22- in the manneroutlined above, yet not sufficiently distanced to cause break age of thearticles if the same constitute soft drink bottles or the like.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine for vending generally cylindrical articles ofpredetermined diameter, a pair of spaced, upright, supporting andguiding means for receiving a stack of side-by-side, interengaged,vertical columns of articles arranged in staggered relationshiptherebetween whereby the lowermost article of one of either of thecolumns is always below the level of the lowermost article of the othercolumn; selectively controllable means underlying the stack and havingswingable gate means engageable with the lowermost article of said onecolumn to support the stack and movable to a position releasing saidlowermost article of the one column and engageable with the lowermostarticle of the other column in supporting relationship to the remainingarticles in the stack whereby articles are released successively fromalternate columns as the gate means is swung to alternate positionsthereof; and a pair of structures mounted on opposed faces of saidsupporting and guiding means adjacent the gate means, each of saidstructures having a lower upright area disposed to engage the lowermostarticle of a proximal column, and an upper upright section disposed toengage the next to lowermost article of a respective proximal column,respective areas of the structures being spaced closer to [further from}corresponding supporting and guiding means than the sections of saidstructures and opposed areas and sections respectively. of saidstructures being positioned to present respective spaces therebetweeneach less than twice the diameter of one of said articles [and thesections] to thereby maintain the next to lowermost article of saidother column out of engagement with the" lowermost article of said othercolumn whereby jamming of the articles is prevented during swinging ofsaid gate means and successive vending of said articles.

2. In a vending machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of saidstructures comprises an upright spacer plate mounted on a correspondingsupporting and guiding means.

3. [A] In a vending machine as set forth in claim 2, wherein said spacerplates have opposed areas at corresponding lower portions thereofsufficiently spaced apart to cause the article next above said lowermostarticle to be in sufiicient proximity to the level of said lowermostarticle to thereby permit said article directly above the lowermostarticle and in the same vertical column there with to directly engagesaid lowermost article whcrfi y' the Weight of the stack of articles istaken ofli' of said article next above the lowermost article.

4. [A] In a vending machine as set forth in claim 3, wherein said spacerplates have opposed sections at corresponding upper portions thereoflocated in suilicient proximity to cause the article next above saidarticle directly above the lowermost article and in the same verticalcolumn therewith to be maintained [maintain the latter] in spacedrelationship to said article next above the lowermost article, saidarticle directly above the lowermost article and in the same verticalcolumn therewith being maintained in spaced relationship to said articlenext above the lowermost article.

5. [A] In a vending machine as set forth in claim 4, wherein said areaof each of the spacer plates merges with said section thereof throughoutan angularly disposed intermediate zone extending the entire horizontalwidth of a respective plate.

6. [A] In a vending machine as set forth in claim 4, wherein said spacerplates are provided with opposed, outwardly extending tabs lying in themajor plane of respective plates, each of said supporting and guidingmeans having bracket and slot means therein disposed to removablyreceive respective tabs on corresponding plates to thereby facilitatereleasable mounting of said plates on the supporting and guiding means.

7. [A] In a vending machine as set forth in claim 4, wherein each of theplates is provided with an integral flange projecting toward acorresponding supporting and guiding means and merging with the upperhorizontal portion of the section of a corresponding plate throughout auniformly curved margin extending the entire horizontal width of arespective plate.

8. [A] In a vending machine as set forth in claim 4, wherein thevertical dimension of each of said areas and sections of a correspondingspacer plate is only slightly less than the cross-sectional dimension ofone of said articles.

9. [A] In a vending machine as set forth in claim 4, wherein the spacebetween said sections and said areas of corresponding spacer plates iscorrelated to maintain the article directly above the lowermost articleand in the same vertical column therewith, and the article next abovethe same, in substantially equally spaced relationship from the articlenext above said lowermost article.

10. [A] In a vending machine as set forth in claim 4, wherein each ofsaid spacer plates is provided with a series of peripheral flangesextending laterally in one direction from the area and section of eachspacer plate and adapted for maintaining the area and said section ofcorresponding plates in proper spaced relationship from said supportingand guiding means on which the same are mounted.

References Cited in the file of this patent or the original patentUNITED STATES PATENTS 1,694,897 Washburn Dec. 12, 1928 2,308,532 MillsJan. 19, 1943 2,369,882 Brock Feb. 20, 1945 2,435,526 Young et a1. Feb.3, 1948 2,438,503 Holt Mar. 30, 1948 2,506,717 Fulmer May 9, 19502,836,326 Childers May 27, 1958

